Our Birthday
by allyrwhitney
Summary: It's the twins' birthday, and while everyone seems too busy to spend time with them, Amber and James find something to do together.


_I only own my ideas._

Our Birthday

One morning in August, sunlight filtered through Amber's bedroom window as the blonde princess stirred and opened her eyes with a smile on her face. She sat up stretching and pushed the covers aside.

"Today's the day," she squealed excitedly as she got out of bed. She walked to her vanity and glanced in the mirror, making a face. Her hair always became a tangled mess during the night. Determined not to let this damper her mood, she moved to the bell rope and tugged on it.

A minute later, there was a knock on her door and Suzette came in carrying a dress in one hand. "Good morning, Princess Amber." She chuckled when she saw the state of Amber's hair. "Don't worry. I'll have your hair fixed in no time."

"Thanks, Suzette. Ooh. Is that my dress?" The dress was a light green color with a billowing skirt that split down the middle revealing a pale yellow layer beneath. The elbow length sleeves had yellow lace around the ends. Silver and gold sequins had been sewn throughout in diamond and flower patterns. "It looks wonderful! I can't wait to try it on."

…

About an hour later, the royal family was in the dining room finishing breakfast. As servants began cleaning the table, Baileywick walked in carrying a scroll like he did every morning.

"Your Majesties," he said dutifully. "Your first meeting starts in ten minutes."

Amber gasped. "Daddy! You have meetings _today_?"

Roland chuckled. "I'm afraid so, Amber. Some of these meetings couldn't wait."

"So, what are we supposed to do?" James asked.

"I'm sure you'll find something fun to do," Miranda said brightly. "The meetings should be over this afternoon. Come on, Rollie. We'd better go." Taking his hand, she led him out of the room.

James looked at his younger sister. "What about you, Sof?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, you guys," she smiled sympathetically. "I promised Mr. Cedric I'd help him with something." With that, she hurried out of the room.

Hearing a heavy sigh, James turned to his twin who looked dejected. "What's wrong, Amber?"

"What's _wrong_?" she whined. "James, today is my birthday…"

The prince rolled his eyes. "_Our_ birthday."

"…I'm thirteen…"

"_We're_ thirteen."

"…And no one seems to want to spend time with me."

"With _us_."

Amber glanced at her grinning brother. "I see you're not as upset about this as I am." She folded her arms, pouting.

He shrugged. "Well, Mom did say the meetings will be done this afternoon. We can do something together until then."

She sighed. "Fine. What do you suggest we do, dear brother?"

The blonde boy thought for a moment. "Well, I heard Dad and Baileywick talking about a new exhibit at the museum in Dunwiddie. We never did go see the new museum."

The princess's eyes lit up. "Yes! That's a great idea, James. I'd like to see the Crowns of the Kingdoms Exhibit."

He rolled his eyes. "Of course you would."

"Oh, hush," she said, swatting his shoulder lightly as she stood up. "Let's go tell Baileywick where we're going."

…

Sofia watched from around a corner as her siblings walked through the front doors a few minutes later. "Okay, they're leaving. Now we need to–" She turned around and giggled softly. Cedric had fallen asleep on his feet. "Mr. Cedric," she gently touched his arm.

The sorcerer snapped to attention. "I'm awake."

She grinned. "You are now anyway." Then she frowned. "Mr. Cedric, have you been getting enough sleep lately? When I came to your workshop a few minutes ago you were asleep at your desk."

Cedric yawned, covering his mouth. "I'm fine, Sofia. Last night I got to bed at four o'clock and slept for two hours before getting up."

"So you only got two hours of sleep last night? What about the night before?"

"Oh, well… It was about the same."

"Mr. Cedric!" There was a deep frown of concern on her face.

He sighed. "I was experimenting, all right? It's part of being a sorcerer. Now, come along. We have a ballroom to decorate."

The princess shook her head. Clearly, her mentor hadn't been sleeping enough. She would make sure he went straight to bed after the party.

…

When the twins arrived at the museum, they were amazed by all the exhibits. James wandered to the War Room where suits of armor lined the walls. Shields and swords were on display, either on the walls or in glass cases. On the back wall was a battle map from long ago. And there in the center of the room, to the prince's delight, was a cannon.

"Brilliant!" he exclaimed.

Amber, meanwhile, found her way to the Crowns of the Kingdoms Exhibit. She was fascinated by all the various headdresses that had been worn by the kings and queens of the many different kingdoms around the world.

One particular crown caught the girl's eye, and she moved closer. It was a simple silver circlet with diamonds all around it, one slightly bigger gem in the front center. What was so unusual about this crown was that the gems seemed to be glowing.

Amber hummed curiously and read the card displayed next to the crown. "_This circlet belonged to the first queen of the far off kingdom of Timbesia, Queen Amalia. It is said to have been a gift from the first Royal Sorcerer of that kingdom, who supposedly made the diamonds from moonlight reflecting off the surface of a lake._"

"Wow!" Amber breathed in wonder. "I wonder if Cedric would make me something like this when I become queen."

"I doubt it," James said from behind her, snickering when she jumped. "We both know Sofia is the only one special enough to get a gift like that from Cedric."

"James! Don't sneak up on me like that," she scolded him.

He just grinned. "Sorry, sis. I found something you might like to see."

"Ooh, you found a fashion exhibit?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure, Amber," he rolled his eyes sarcastically. "_I_ would look at a fashion exhibit."

"Well, what is it?"

"Come on. You'll see." He took her hand, pulling her away from the glowing circlet.

James led her to a small room off to the side of most of the exhibits. When they stepped through the golden archway into the room, Amber gasped as her eyes widened.

"It's… It's Mother…"

Against the back wall was a throne with a golden gown spread out as if it was being worn by an invisible person. It resembled the gown the twins' birth mother wore in a portrait back at the castle. To the left and right were glass cases. One was filled with jewelry. The other was filled with letters and poems, all written in an elegant hand. Beautiful paintings of animals and flowers hung on the wall with a few portraits of a golden haired girl. One showed her at about eight years old, wearing a light pink dress and hugging a white rabbit, amber eyes shining with wonder. Another portrait showed the girl at about sixteen, wearing a green dress and holding a wand, the mischievous smile on her face made one wonder what she was up to. The last portrait was a wedding portrait. The girl stood beside a younger Roland. In the center of the room was a table with a glass case on top. Inside the case, resting on a bed of red velvet was a gold tiara with a plaque beside it. The plaque read;

_Queen Lorelei was a treasure of Enchancia._

_She was a friend to everyone and always tried her best to help anyone in need._

_She enjoyed painting, magic, and poetry._

_She will forever be remembered by her family and friends._

After reading this, Amber sniffled as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"You okay, Amber?" her twin asked, wrapping an arm around her.

She nodded and wiped her eyes. "I just wish I had known her."

James nodded. It was sad that they had never known their mother. But their father had always been there for them, and now they had Miranda and Sofia. And they always had each other… At that thought, the boy grinned. He hated seeing his sister so down. It was time to cheer her up. Clearing his throat, he began, "I'm your twin. You're my twin…"

Amber groaned. "Oh, no."

"We stick together through thick and thin…"

"James! Please, stop!"

"No matter what I do, I'm always stuck with you…"

A soft smile tugged at the princess's lips as she started to sing the rest of their special song with him.

"And when trouble comes our way, I know my twin will save the day…"

"There's the smile that was missing," the boy cheered when they finished the song. He gazed up at one of their mother's portraits. "You know, Amber, you look a lot like her, especially when you smile."

Her smile grew even bigger. "Thanks, James."

…

Meanwhile, Baileywick was in the castle ballroom supervising the preparations for the twins' surprise birthday party. He was rambling to himself as he checked off items on a list.

"The cake is almost ready. Good. It was a good idea to have half strawberry and half chocolate. Some of the guests have arrived." He checked off a few names on a guest list. "Guards are at the front doors. One of them will inform us when the twins return…. I hope… Queen Miranda is managing the gifts. King Roland is sampling the pudding. Cedric has fallen asleep while decorating… Wait a minute." He blinked and looked up. Sure enough, the sorcerer had fallen asleep on his feet, green and gold streamers hovering over his head. "Oh, my."

"Don't worry, Baileywick," Sofia called as she hurried toward her mentor. "I'll take care of him."

The steward then sent a pointed look at the king, who was standing by the buffet table with a bowl of Jiggly Wiggly pudding in his hand.

Roland grinned innocently when he caught his eye. "What?"

The older man sighed. "Your Majesty, with all due respect, the twins could be back soon, and there is still so much to do. So please refrain from eating the refreshments until the party starts and do something useful."

Roland laughed nervously. "Heh… Uh, I'll just go help Miranda." He walked to his wife, who had an amused smirk on her face.

Baileywick shook his head and went back to his list.

…

About an hour later, the coach with the twins pulled up near the front steps. After seeing the exhibit dedicated to their mother, the two blondes had continued to explore the museum. James had found a fascinating display of ancient artifacts, both magical and non magical. Amber was thrilled to find an actual fashion exhibit displaying fashions that dated back to the beginning of the kingdom. James had almost had to drag her away so they could get back to the castle.

The prince was out of the coach first, reaching out a hand to help his sister. They went up the front steps, and the one guard on duty opened the door for them.

"Did something happen to your partner?" Amber asked curiously.

"Oh, no, Your Highness," the man said quickly. "He just went inside to get a drink."

"So, what should we do now?" James asked as they stepped into the front hall. "It might be a while before Mom and Dad are done with the meetings."

Before his twin could answer, Baileywick came strolling up to them. "Prince James, Princess Amber, you're both needed in the ballroom."

The twins exchanged baffled looks as they followed the steward to the ballroom.

"Why the ballroom?" James wondered.

Amber shrugged. "Maybe Daddy arranged for a dance instructor to teach us some new steps. Who knows?"

When they reached the ballroom doors, Baileywick pushed them open and gestured for the twins to go inside. They stepped into the room and–

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Both twins gasped. Their family and friends were all gathered in the room. There was a table with two piles of gifts. The buffet table was laden with all kinds of delicious foods, including a large birthday cake decorated with green and gold frosting. The room was decorated with green and gold streamers and balloons.

"Wow!" Amber cried.

"This is awesome!" James exclaimed excitedly.

"Happy birthday, you two." Sofia smiled brightly as she ran up and hugged both of them. She was followed by their parents.

"You guys didn't actually have meetings today, did you?" Amber asked.

Roland chuckled. "Of course not. We just needed some kind of excuse to get the party ready without you suspecting anything."

"And it worked out perfectly since you two decided to go to Dunwiddie," Miranda added.

Just then, Hildegard, Clio, and Zandar walked up.

"Happy birthday, Amber, James," Clio smiled.

Amber beamed. "Hildy? Clio? You girls are here?"

Hildegard scoffed lightly. "Of course we are. We couldn't miss your birthday, could we? Besides I wanted to make sure you got my gift."

"Come on." Zandar grabbed James by the arm. "I can't wait to see your face when you open my gift."

The twins exchanged excited looks as they were led to the table piled high with gifts.

…

That evening, Sofia led Cedric back to his workshop. The poor sorcerer was too exhausted to protest much as she took his hand and took him to his bedroom where she had him sit on his bed.

"You really don't need to do this," he said, yawning.

"Yes, I do," she insisted as she took his shoes off. "You're so tired I'm afraid you'll fall and get hurt. Now lie down."

Not having much choice, he lay down. He was asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow.

Sofia giggled softly as she took a blanket from the foot of the bed and covered him with it. She learned forward and kissed his cheek. "Good night, Mr. Cedric," she whispered as she left the room.

Cedric smiled in his sleep and snuggled deeper into the pillow.

A/N; Thanks for reading. This may not be my best story, but I hope you enjoyed it. And, yes, I just had to put in some Cedfia moments. LOL!


End file.
